


Gone Camping

by Honbunbun



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst?? dont know her, Ben and Bev are also together cause I'm soft, Camping, Could I get more cliche??? probably not, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie and Richie being cute, Established Relationship, Fluff, It's pure fluff, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, just losers having a good time, that's all it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-26 04:50:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21368467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honbunbun/pseuds/Honbunbun
Summary: Eddie and Richie have just started dating, they've all graduated high school, and everything in life is going well so, the Losers decide to all go camping for a weekend. Or in other words, the Losers are left unsupervised in the wilderness for the whole weekend. What could go wrong?
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 33
Kudos: 233





	1. Chocolate and Honey

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> This is purely indulgent, I will admit that. I am very soft. It's all just fluff and the Losers being idiots in the woods--what more could you want?   
It'll be three little chapters long, full of camping adventures! 
> 
> Please enjoy!! Let me know what you think :)

Richie's alarm went off at seven in the morning--on a _Saturday. _

That was beyond fucked up, but at least it was for good reason. He and the Losers had plans to go camping for the weekend, just them. It was sort of like a celebration for graduating last week, which is a huge reason that Eddie's mom even considered letting him go. 

Of course, they couldn't leave Friday night because "driving to the woods at night is far too dangerous," as stated by the lovely Sonia Kaspbrak, rivaled only by her second statement: "one weekend is good enough for now, I want you back by Monday morning"--Richie could still hear Eddie's over exaggerated voice he used to relay those quotes to Richie. He grinned fondly to himself. 

So now Richie was getting in the shower and getting ready at freaking seven in the morning. Though he wasn't too bitter about it, he was definitely looking forward to this.

Especially since he and Eddie had started dating just a week or two ago, but with graduation and finals they hadn't had much time to just waste together. Now they'd have a whole weekend of it. 

After Richie was dressed, he figured he should probably pack. Eddie would be furious if he knew Richie hadn't even started yet. 

He grabbed his now empty backpack and shoved a change of clothes in it, the essentials, candy (basically an essential), and then tried for a few solid minutes to cram his sleeping bag in there, but that was _not _working out, so he would be stuck carrying that and a pillow. 

The moment he had everything collected in a somewhat manageable way, he heard a honk outside. 

An excited grin found his face as he stared out, saying a quick goodbye to his parents on the way out. Bill hopped out of the driver's seat (yes, he was driving, they were all doomed) and jogged over to help put Richie's stuff in the trunk. 

"Nice wheels, Denbrough." he teased, admiring the most mom-ish minivan he had ever seen. 

Because it was a mom's minivan. _Bill's _mom's minivan. 

Bill's mom had actually let them borrow her minivan by some stroke of God. Why Mrs. Denbrough would ever entrust her main mode of transportation to seven stupid teenagers, Richie would never understand, but he was damn grateful. 

When he slid that van door open and saw everyone else inside, he couldn't help the smile that found his face. "Morning lady and gents," he said, slipping inside. Mike was in the passenger seat with Bill; Bev, Ben, and Stan were in the second row of seats, and Eddie was waiting for him in the first row, right behind Bill and Mike. 

Seeing him sitting there all alone, smiling at him, Richie couldn't understand how he'd gotten so damn _lucky. _

Richie slid right in next to him. "And a special good morning to you, Spaghetti." he cooed. "You excited? A whole weekend, out in the wilderness. Bugs, dirt, wild animals--all that good stuff." 

Eddie grimaced. "Richie!" 

Bev folded her arms across the back of their seats, grinning smugly at them. "Don't worry Eds, the nastiest thing you'll have to deal with all weekend is him." she said, nodding to Richie. 

Eddie groaned. "At least I've gotten used to it." 

Richie laughed and slung his arm around Eddie's shoulders, pulling him in against him. "You're so sweet." 

Bill had been chatting with Mike, but he turned around to look at the others. "H-Hey guys," he announced, getting everyone's attention. "We ready?" 

Everyone responded with some kind of agreement, Bev definitely sounded the most excited. Richie held up a thumbs up. "Take us away Big Bill." 

Bill nodded, turning back to face the wheel. 

The moment the engine started, the Losers cheered. 

Richie had no faith in Bill. 

He had been in the car with him when he was first learning to drive and, to this day, Richie cannot believe he's alive. Even now, Bill drives like a maniac. At least there's some control now; a method to the madness. 

Regardless, Eddie has his hand tentatively on Richie's thigh, and god that's _so distracting. _If he wasn't fearing for his life, Richie's mind would've been absolute mush. 

By some miracle, Bill actually managed to get them to the campgrounds without killing them or someone else. The only one who didn't look like they'd just survived some traumatic event was Mike, who was just peacefully reading some gardening book. Either the man was fearless or had _one hell _of an ability to focus. 

Bill smiled back at everyone excitedly, frowning when he saw the looks on their faces. "What?" 

No one said anything, just shrugged it off; Bill was their ride, the last thing they needed to do was insult his ability to get them home, considering they had no other options. But Bill was oblivious, so he just shrugged it off and hopped out of the car. 

As the others began filing out, Richie leaned forward, resting his arms between the driver seat and the passenger seat. "Mikey, how are you not sick to your stomach right now?" 

"Eh, his driving's not that bad," Mike said casually, slipping his bookmark in place and pulling open the glovebox. Richie noticed an open notebook in there, covered in writing that looked like Bill's. 

"Woah, woah, woah, what have we here?" Richie asked with a grin, snatching it. He was hoping for a diary but a quick scan of the open page led him to believe it was a story--unless Bill had been walking down a dark, haunted hallway. And was a woman.

"Does Big Bill write?" Richie asked, partly in amazement. He couldn't imagine Bill sitting down and just _writing _for hours. 

Eddie peered his head over Richie's shoulder, finally realizing Richie was doing something up there. "Is it good?" 

"It's very good." Mike said casually. 

"Have you read this?" Richie demanded, waving it in Mike's face. 

Mike just laughed, snatching it back from him. "As a matter of fact, _I have._" he said, slipping it carefully back into the glovebox. "I read everything he writes. He's good." 

Richie scoffed in disbelief, his mind trying to process that Bill could write. "Huh. With Ben's poetry, we've got two people who can write in the group? Who knew there was so much talent in the Losers Club?" 

Eddie patted Richie's back, sliding past him, stepping out. "And yet, you have none." 

Richie smirked, watching him head out to help the others. 

_Such a brat. _

Everyone decided to set up their tents and sleeping arrangements now so they weren't too tired to do it later. 

Richie watched as everyone brought out little single-person tents and started setting them up. That seemed like _a lot _of work. Richie was glad he just brought a sleeping bag. He waited to see where Eddie was setting up his tent, and then about twenty feet away from him, under a tree, he rolled out his sleeping bag. 

Stan eyed him suspiciously. "What are you doing?" 

"Setting up, Staniel, same as you." he replied, laying back on his sleeping bag. 

Stan quickly finished setting up his tent, then returned his attention to Richie, narrowing his eyes. "Wait... Is that all you brought?" he asked, shaking his head a bit, already in disbelief. "You didn't bring a tent?" 

"Nope. I'm not scared of nature." Richie said smugly, folding his arms behind his head. 

"What're you going to do about the mosquitoes?" Stan was trying to look like he didn't care, but he definitely looked stressed out. 

"I brought bug spray, _duh._" 

"And what about when a bear comes and eats you?" Eddie chimed in as he came and sat beside Richie. 

"Well then you'll save me." Richie winked. 

Eddie laughed out loud. "Yeah, okay." he sputtered sarcastically. 

Richie shook his head, looking at Stan. "Can you believe this? Won't even save me from a bear." 

"Good." Stan said, rolling his eyes. "I hope it rains." 

Richie was quite amused by Stan's outrage at this--he knew it came from a place of worry, but it was still entertaining. It made him almost wish it wasn't a warm, sunny day--because wouldn't it be comedic gold if it started raining? 

Richie grinned at Eddie, lowering his voice. "Stan's worried about me." 

"Well you're stupid, it's hard not to be." Eddie remarked, ever so snarky. 

Richie leaned forward, raising his eyebrows. "Ah? So does that mean you're worried about me too, Eds?"

Eddie couldn't help the smile that found his face. He pushed Richie by the forehead away from him. "Shut up Richie," he spoke the words so fondly he might as well have said he loved him. 

Richie couldn't help the swell in his heart. 

Once everyone was set up, Bev was eager to get to the exploring. 

Eddie went around spraying everyone with bug repellent, but in this case, they were quite grateful for the doting, or maybe it was more like nagging--there really wasn't much of a difference with Eddie. But this time, everyone even stood still and held out their arms to make it easier for him to make sure they were thoroughly covered. No one wanted to get eaten up by the freaking mosquitoes. 

They started out; they had absolutely no plan, and no idea where they were going. Which Richie for one thought was genius--since when had wandering aimlessly in the forest ever ended badly for anyone?

Eddie was much more seriously concerned about it. "Shouldn't we like... make a note of where we're going?" 

"We'll be fine, Eddie!" Bev assured dismissively. "Between the seven of us, someone's bound to remember the way back." 

"Yeah," Richie said, putting his arm around Eddie. It was so natural to them now, Richie did it without thinking and Eddie always moved closer without thinking. Second nature or not, it still made Richie's head spin. "Plus, we've got Mr. Nature Expert over there, he's bound to have a better eye for this than the rest of us," Richie said, nodding to Mike. 

Mike looked caught off guard, some wild flower in his hand--he had not being paying attention in the slightest, which meant he probably also had not been paying attention to where they were going. He didn't even bother trying to correct Richie, just quietly shook his head a little bit. Bill laughed.

Eddie looked ahead and sighed heavily. "We're really going to die in the woods, aren't we?" 

"You didn't actually think we'd get out of this alive, did you?" Richie teased. "The seven of us, camping, _unsupervised? _Please." 

Eddie lightened up a little, not able to help the laugh that bubbled out of him. "I suppose you're right. This was bound to happen from the start," he threw an almost bashful smile at Richie--the most lovely little shade of red on those freckled cheeks. "I could think of worse ways to go, I suppose." he said, much softer that time. 

_Oh wow._ Richie thought, heart threatening to crawl up his throat. _Guess I really will die on this trip. _He smiled at Eddie even after he had turned his attention ahead, and started arguing with Ben about how that "flower" Ben picked and gave to Bev was actually a weed. 

_I could think of worse ways to go too. _

Richie wasn't enjoying this anymore. 

"Can we head back now?" he huffed as they were making their way up a particularly steep incline--they'd been out so long the sun was well overhead, it was _at least _noon, but probably closer to two or three. 

Everyone was getting a little tired, but they all seemed somewhat surprised by Richie's complaining. 

Bev, however, knew exactly why he was so tired. "What did I tell you on Friday, Richie? 'Don't wear black jeans to go camping', and what did you do?" 

Richie groaned, giving up, stopping so he could fall back on his ass in the dirt. "It's called fashion Bev, look it up." 

Bev, who had been studying fashion in any way she could and was planning to make a career out of it, didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. 

A water bottle hit Richie in the face, almost knocking his glasses off. "There." Stan said. 

"Ya know, Staniel, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to say that _before _you throw it. So I can catch it." Richie snipped, but still eagerly screwed open the bottle regardless. 

"Oops." Stan said, and based on that smile on his face, he didn't mean it. 

They decided to take a little break. 'Decided' was a generous word--Richie didn't give them a choice, he wasn't moving. 

Stan wandered off, looking around among the trees, probably looking for more freaking birds. Bill had a pocket full of berries that he'd collected along the way, and made Mike check each one before he hate them. Mike didn't look entirely confident about all of them, and Richie could see it now: Bill eating a poison berry and dying on their camping trip. He wouldn't be surprised. 

Bev and Ben sat under the sunlight speckled through the trees, admiring each other and speaking just softly enough for each other. It made Richie's heart lurch, and he instinctually turned to Eddie, who had settled beside him, absently picking at the dirt on his shoe. 

Richie laid back, not really caring about the dirt. He pinched Eddie's thigh, earning a little jump and a smack. "Lay with me." 

"In the dirt? No." Eddie deadpanned. 

"C'mon Eds, it's not so bad." 

"What about bugs?" Eddie asked. "You could be laying on a bug right now." 

Richie smirked, shaking his head in amusement. "Yeah, yeah." 

Much to his surprise, Eddie actually laid down beside him anyway. "If even an _ant _gets on me, you're paying for it." 

Richie's heart warmed. "Fair enough." 

Eddie reached into the pocket of his shorts, pulling out a familiar little yellow flower--well, yellow _weed. _The same type that Ben had given Bev. It was a little smashed from being in Eddie's pocket, but Eddie still placed it on Richie's chest. He didn't say anything, staring up at the trees above them intently, blushing deeply.

Richie gently picked it up off his chest, feeling the heat rise in his own cheeks as well. This was probably the cutest thing he had ever witnessed in his entire life. He looked over at Eddie, breath catching slightly at the way his brown eyes reflected the little patches of light shining through leaves overhead--chocolate became honey, and all it took was a little sunlight. And Richie had a thing for sweets, so he rolled over Eddie and kissed him deeply. 

It was warm and pleasant, the speckled sunlight on his back, Eddie's soft lips against his. Then it was burning when Eddie's hand rested against the back of his neck; his skin and his heart on fire. Richie had never enjoyed the heat so much. 

Richie was somewhere else entirely, feeling drunk or high or both. It took him a moment to seep back into reality when he felt something hit him. He looked down at the berry that had just hit him in the head. He immediately glared at Bill. 

Bill looked quite proud of himself. "It was Mike," he said, even though Mike was busy drawing a sheep in the dirt, and Bill's hand was still full of berries. 

Mike just smiled. "It was me." he said with a shrug, and Bill looked at him, _so _touched that he took the blame. Stan had just wandered back but he didn't bother to ask what was going on. 

Richie rolled his eyes. "Why did we bring Bill with us?" he asked jokingly.

Eddie laughed, pushing Richie off him so he could sit up. "Cause _he _brought _us._" 

Richie clicked his tongue in disappointment. "We need a new ride." 

Bev had stood and was brushing dirt of her shorts. "Alright princess," she said, looking at Richie with a grin. "Think you can start heading back?" 

"If I must," Richie sighed dramatically, getting to his feet and patting himself off. As carefully as he could, he put the little flower, or weed, whatever the hell it was, into his pocket, trying to avoid crushing it anymore. 

Eddie stood next to him and Richie felt his face pale when he saw the little pine beetle on Eddie's shoulder. He smacked it off of him, making Eddie jump and look at him incredulously. "What the hell?" 

Richie did not want to deal with inevitable breakdown that would follow if he told the truth, so he just tussled Eddie's hair and put him in a headlock. "Just looked like you needed to be bullied, Spaghetti." 

Stan rolled his eyes. "Can we head back please?" 

Richie laughed, then groaned when Eddie jabbed him in the side, promptly escaping. Bev laughed as she took the lead. "Must you two do this everywhere we go?" 

"Yes, must we?" Eddie snapped, fussing with his hair. 

Richie just grinned, sparing a wary glance back at the little beetle that was still scurrying away behind them.

Turns out Bev was basically a certified explorer, because she got them back to the campsite no problem.

Richie didn't complain for the entire rest of the way, mainly because the moment he started to whine again, Mike gave him a piggy back ride all the way back. "Thank you, stud." Richie said, patting Mike's head as Mike gently put him down. 

"Don't you mean, steed?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"No I meant stud." Richie said casually, loving that dirty little look Eddie gave him. 

Mike just laughed, looking quite pleased with himself. 

Everyone sat around, just relaxing. Richie was so grateful to be sitting and doing nothing, rubbing his sore legs. He was out of shape apparently--he made a mental note: _Hiking sucks. _

Bev had boundless energy and it was sickening--she was walking around the campsite, unpacking all the things Mike brought for them: Some pots and pans for cooking, some ingredients, matches, lighter fluid, etc. Ben was just sitting on the ground, admiring her. Richie was pretty sure Mike was napping, and Bill was laying beside him and whining about a stomach ache, which was prompting Stan to lecture him about eating a bunch of berries he found in the woods. 

And with Eddie resting lazily at Richie's side, everything was completely peaceful. It all felt so _right._ Richie was pretty sure this was one of those moments that he'd smile back on--all of them just lazing about under the comfortable warmth, just them. 

Just the Losers. 

Bev set everything up to make them some food. The sun had dipped a little lower by now, it was probably about four, so it was hard to say if this was late lunch or early dinner. 

Bev, bless her heart, was totally ready to cook it as well, but everyone stopped her. She was a terrible cook--like, the kind of bad that even _Richie _wouldn't eat, and he'd eat just about anything. He was a Trashmouth in more ways than one. 

Mike was easily the best cook of the group, so he happily got started. Every single time he cooked, he had a big smile on his face, and told them every single time how much he loved to cook for other people. And the Losers listened every time, because Mike just looked so _happy. _

Stan started the fire for him, and Mike cooked some vegetables and rice, which Richie found amazing. He supposed it probably wasn't _that _different from cooking on a stove top, but watching him casually make amazing food over an open fire blew his mind. 

They all sat in a circle together when food was served, everyone muttering thanks to Mike through mouthfuls. Mike was beaming. 

"Mike, will you teach me how to cook?" Richie begged. 

Mike laughed, but he actually looked quite touched. "I can't tell if you're serious or not, but of course." he paused when Bill gave him a pointed look, then grinned back at Richie. "Well, I already promised Bill. After him." 

Richie shook his head. "Bill will never be able to cook, he's a lost cause." 

"Shut up Richie, so are you." Eddie butted in, kicking Richie's shoe. "You're gonna burn Mike's house down." 

Richie just grinned. "That may or may not be true." 

"I don't understand you guys," Stan said, but there was a certain fondness to it that made Richie's chest warm. 

"It's their special love language," Bev said with a grin. "We just clearly don't speak it." 

Eddie and Richie exchanged glances, neither of them able to keep the smiles off their faces. 

Slowly, the sun set, and the stars started appearing. 

Barely. One of the things they were looking forward to--and by they, Richie meant _Mike, _cause he wouldn't stop talking about it--was seeing the stars while they were out here. But there were so many clouds all day, and they didn't seem to be clearing up anytime soon, blocking most of the stars. 

Regardless, they found a spot with less tress and all laid out in the grass. Everyone was a bit worried Mike would be sad, but he seemed completely content with the few stars that were visible. Still, Richie hoped it would be clearer tomorrow night. 

Everyone was chatting lightly amongst themselves so Richie glanced over at Eddie. "I am underwhelmed by these stars." 

Eddie nodded. "Me too." he said, looking at Richie instead. "At least Mike is happy." 

"Maybe there will be more tomorrow night." he grinned. "Tomorrow night, when we roast marshmallows, I'm telling scary stories." 

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Yeah I doubt you can manage to focus enough to tell a story." 

"Hmm, that's probably true," Richie hummed thoughtfully. "I get so distracted when you're around, it's hard to focus on anything."

Richie couldn't see it, but he was sure Eddie was blushing furiously. He shoved Richie's face away. "Shut up, you're so corny!" 

"You love it, Eds," Richie sang, looking back up at the sky. The clouds looked a bit darker now and he frowned. _Oh God. _It looked like it was going to rain. It was funny when Richie was sure it _wasn't _going to rain, but not so much now. Why did the universe always have to align with Stan? So unfair. 

He sighed heavily. "Guys, I hate to say it, but I think it's gonna rain, maybe we should get back under the trees." 

Bill gave Richie a dirty look. "Can't you sit still for twenty minutes? Mike wants to see the stars." 

"The stars have been seen," Richie said, motioning to the sky. "And now it will rain on us, I'm not saying that cause I'm _bored._" 

"Sure." Bill said sarcastically.

A rain drop hit Richie's face and he groaned. "Alright, it's actually starting to rain now." 

"Really?" Bev asked curiously, holding out her hand, waiting for a drop. 

"No, not really, he's just--" Bill flinched as a drop hit him, gingerly touching his cheek. He looked at Richie with the most disgusted face. "Did you spit on me?" 

Richie sat up. "Are you--_what!? _You think I want to leave so bad I would _spit _on your _stupid face?_" 

Bill sat up with the most dramatic, offended gasp. He didn't have a chance to say anything else as the rain drops started falling more frequently now. "I told you!" Richie shouted. 

"Alright, fine, let's go!" Bill shouted back.

"And _I _told _you_," Stan said as they walked back to their mostly covered area. 

Of course, the trees weren't really doing much to stop the rain. Richie grumbled to himself, watching everyone rush inside their tents. For once in his life, he wished he had listened to Stan. 

Thankfully the tree he was under was bigger, doing a better job at stopping some of the rain than most the others ones. Just as he was working on trying to find a way to get settled, he heard Eddie call him. 

Eddie had his head poked out of his tent and rolled his eyes. "You're not serious, are you? You're not going to sleep in the rain, get your ass in here." he demanded, disappearing back inside. 

Richie lit up, excitedly making his way over and inside. "Awe, my sweet Eddie Spaghetti," he cooed as he crawled in and closed the zipper behind him. 

"Don't push it." Eddie said, but he was smiling.

Richie crawled beside him, settling down. They were pressed right up against each other, the tent was small, meant for one person. He could feel Eddie's intoxicating warmth, and watched as Eddie rolled over, pressing his back to Richie's chest.

Richie was _so glad _this tent was meant for one person. 

"Check that out. First day down, and no one's dead. Miraculous," Richie muttered as he cuddled up to him, nudging into Eddie's hair. He smelled like shampoo and bug spray, and Richie weirdly enjoyed it.

Eddie hummed, relaxing into Richie's arms. "Don't jinx it." 

"Still worried about that bear?" Richie teased. "Well, _I'd _save you from a bear." 

"And I'm sure by save me, you mean get eaten?" 

Richie smirked. "Well of course. If he's eating me, you've got time to escape." 

Eddie giggled, lovingly stroking Richie's arm. "Well I lied earlier, I'd save you from a bear too." Richie had no idea that stupid of a sentence could be said with such genuine sentiment. 

Richie blushed lightly, hugging Eddie tighter. "I knew it." he whispered softly. 

Eddie looked back over his shoulder, reaching back to put his hand in Richie's hair. Richie appreciated the closeness, admiring the way his brows knit together just slightly, his dark eyes looking _full_ of something--some sort of emotion. But more than anything else, he looked nervous. "Uh, I wanted to tell you something." 

"Go for it," Richie whispered.

Eddie paused, biting his lip thoughtfully. "I love you," Eddie said bashfully, looking hesitant. Worried, maybe? Sure, it was the first time they'd said it to each other, but_ surely_ Eddie knew Richie loved him. He made it as obvious as he possibly could. 

"I love you too, Eds." Richie said, kissing him softly. He smiled against his lips. "I mean _obviously, _I just said I'd save you from a bear." 

Eddie laughed, shaking his head as he moved his head away, facing the other way. "Shut up, Richie." 

And that time, it was so soft it was _definitely _an "I love you". 


	2. Scary Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I have no excuse, I was just super tired :') 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy anyway!

Eddie awoke to talking outside the tent, no louder than soft whispers.

It sounded like Mike and Bill, doing their best not to wake the others. It wasn't their fault Eddie was such a light sleeper. He didn't move an inch though; he was so comfortable, he almost forgot _why _he was so comfortable. Until he stretched and disturbed Richie, making him whine. 

Eddie blushed deeply, his mind finally clear enough to register Richie's even breathing on the back of Eddie's neck, his arms lazily wrapped around his waist. He was so warm and cozy, and they had been pressed up against each other all night. They didn't even need to sleep under the blankets Eddie had brought. Eddie stilled until Richie stopped stirring and slipped back into a deep sleep, then he carefully removed himself from Richie as slowly as he could. 

He miraculously managed to not only escape Richie, but grab his backpack and get out of the tent, all without waking him. 

Mike and Bill were beginning to collect ingredients and materials for making breakfast, whispering and giggling to each other. Eddie rolled his eyes at them fondly, wandering off to somewhere more private to go get dressed. 

When he returned, Bill finally noticed him, smiling and waving him over. 

"I expected Mike to be up early, but not you Bill," Eddie teased quietly, sitting on the ground beside him. Mike was currently working on getting the fire going--he was struggling a bit, probably because it had rained a bit last night. 

"Mike's teaching me how to cook," Bill smiled sheepishly. "Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't be awake..." 

Mike rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. 

Stan was next to wake up, shuffling out to them sleepily. He took one look at Mike struggling with the fire and rolled his eyes, walking over and doing it almost effortlessly. "Thank you," Mike whined, looking so defeated. 

Ben and Bev were next. Eddie just grinned to himself. _Of course Richie is the last... _

He probably would've slept until breakfast was ready except Bev walked right over to Eddie's tent--which made Eddie so embarrassed that she just _knew _Richie was in there--and peeked her head inside, yelling at him to wake up. 

Richie did not look pleased when he stumbled out of the tent. 

When he looked at Eddie though, he smiled, and it made Eddie's heart beat harder. 

Richie sat beside him, knocking their knees together on purpose; it was oddly affectionate. "Mornin' Spaghetti." 

"Morning," Eddie muttered, pushing some of Richie's hopelessly messy hair back into place. 

Richie hummed, he loved when Eddie played with his hair. "Next time, just wake me up when you get up." he shot Bev a dirty look. "I'd much rather have you wake me up than get yelled at by Bev." 

Bev cozied up next to the fire, shivering slightly. It was early enough to be cold, and the rain last night didn't help, leaving a certain chill on the air. "Oh please," she scoffed. "Eddie would totally yell at you to wake you up too." 

Richie stuck his tongue out at her. "Yeah, but I_ like it_ when Eddie yells." he said stubbornly, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in close. "So cute and angry," he muttered against Eddie's hair with a grin. 

Eddie laughed softly. "Shut up, Richie." 

Mike had gotten the pan warmed and oiled up, then he just passed it off to Bill, who looked panicked, like Mike had just handed him an active bomb. Mike laughed. "Relax. You're just making bacon and eggs, Bill, you can do this." 

Richie groaned. "No he can't--he's too basic to know how to cook." 

"Basic?" Bill gasped, offended for a moment or two before dropping his voice. "What does that even mean?" Bill whispered to Mike, who just shrugged and shook his head. 

"You can't cook either, Richie." Eddie said, rolling his eyes. 

"Yeah, but I'm not as basic as Bill. Just look at him," he said, motioning to him. "He's wearing_ plaid_." 

"Wait, what does that mean?" Ben asked, looking absolutely frantic--he was also wearing plaid. Bev just laughed and kissed his cheek, assuring him it meant nothing. 

Eddie couldn't help but laugh. Eddie found it endlessly amusing how much Richie picked on Bill, especially because Eddie knew for a fact that Richie thought quite highly of him. Eddie and Richie had spent plenty of late nights talking when they definitely should've been sleeping; it was only natural they talked about the other Losers every now and then. And Richie had only ever had good things to say... 

But Eddie decided not to say anything, they always seemed to have a good time poking fun at each other. Might as well let them, however stupid it may be to watch. 

Bill actually made something they could eat. 

He screwed up the eggs the first time, somehow managing to burn them despite the anxious way he was babying the pan. So Mike ended up cooking some new eggs for them. But Bill managed to successfully cook the bacon on his own, and everyone had the good grace not to mention the little burns on his arms from getting hit with the popping grease _every time. _

Today, their only plan was to be out and explore more--which Richie made everyone specify that they were _exploring _not _hiking. _

They packed a backpack this time. They made some sandwiches for lunch and put them inside, as well as a few water bottles. Eddie threw in some band-aids--he had a feeling they would need them today. And Richie pulled out a bag of candy from his stuff and started putting some in the backpack. Eddie didn't even have the strength to argue; he knew the candy was coming with them, Eddie's complaining wouldn't stop it.

Mike offered to carry the backpack for them, and then they were off. Eddie was pretty sure their survival streak would probably break today. All day, exploring the woods? All seven of them? They were bound to lose at least one. Eddie's bets were on Richie or Bill. 

They had only walked for about twenty minutes--in a new direction this time--when Bev stopped, staring up at a particularly huge tree. Richie stopped beside her, looking it over, then they both grinned at each other. "I bet I can beat you to the top." Bev said. 

"No, no, no!" Eddie shouted before Richie could say anything. "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. You will both fall and die." 

Richie looked up at the tree again, judging whether or not he would actually die from the fall. After a moment he gave an unconvincing: "Nah," and then just nudged Bev. "Let's go!" 

Ben just laughed, patting Eddie's shoulder sympathetically. "Stop fuming Eddie, doing stupid stuff is their specialty." 

Stan rolled his eyes, watching them begin to climb. "And when they die, they'll realize you were right." 

"I don't take much comfort in that," Eddie grumbled. 

Richie had gotten maybe fifteen feet off the ground when something in the tree caught his eye. "Woah, Stan, there's a bird's nest in here," he called, moving to get a better look. Bev just rolled her eyes as she realized Richie had completely forgotten about their stupid competition. 

Everyone waited for a moment to see what Richie would say next as he got as close to the nest as he possibly could. 

And then a tiny bird attacked him. 

And of course, Richie fell right out of the tree, landing on the ground with a pained groan. 

Eddie gasped, completely freaking out--he was way more stressed out about Richie's fall than _Richie_ was. A part of him really wanted to shout about how he had _told _Richie he'd fall out of that damn tree, but he decided against it. 

Richie just looked so shocked, looking at Stan like it was his fault. "That bird _attacked _me!" 

Stan just stood there, smiling, looking almost proud--of the bird, of course. "Yeah, they do that."

Bill was _wheezing _with laughter; he had started laughing the moment Richie fell and didn't seem like he was going to be stopping anytime soon. Bev gracefully jumped down from the tree, laughing too. "Why did you bother the nest!?" 

Eddie grabbed Mike, holding him still as he dug around inside the backpack. He _knew_ he'd need the band-aids. 

Richie was arguing with Bev about what the meaning of "bothering the nest" in this case was as Eddie walked over to where Richie was still just sitting on the ground where he'd fallen. "You're so stupid." Eddie said, kneeling beside him. "Are you okay?"

Richie grinned, raising his eyebrows in the most infuriating way. "Worried?" 

"Only about your brain cells," Eddie replied, finding the tiniest little cut on Richie's cheek where he'd been pecked. Eddie couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up out of him. "I can't believe you got attacked by a bird..." he muttered, pressing a band-aid to Richie's face. 

Richie laughed too, making Eddie's job much more difficult--but he didn't tell him to stop, Eddie enjoyed Richie's laughter too much. "I can." he lowered his voice. "I bet Stan bird-whispered and told it to attack me." 

"I wouldn't be surprised," Eddie whispered back, laughing softly as he did so. The only other place Richie got hurt and needed a band-aid was a scrape on his knee which also ripped his jeans. Eddie would consider these pants ruined, but Richie seemed quite pleased with it. Of course he did. 

Bill had stopped laughing about it finally, but it would come back to him randomly and he'd laugh so hard that he had to lean into Mike to not just fall over. Richie was not as amused. 

"Thanks for fixing me up, Dr. K," Richie said, nudging him as they got up and started moving again. 

"Thanks for getting attacked by a bird, it was funny." Eddie said with a grin, and Bill started laughing hysterically again in the background. 

"I'm sure it won't be the last time," Richie said nonchalantly. "Apparently since looking at a nest is 'bothering' a nest, as Bev has informed me." 

Eddie just laughed and rolled his eyes. Richie took Eddie's hand in his, making Eddie's smile suddenly fall, his cheeks burning. "Are you gonna take care of me next time too?" Richie asked softly. 

Eddie smiled at him. "Well, duh. I always will." 

Richie beamed, looking quite pleased with that answer. He leaned over and kissed him, and Eddie almost tripped over his own two feet, he wasn't sure if it was some stroke of luck that he caught himself, or if Richie had a better hold on him than he thought. The kiss didn't last very long because Bill started laughing again from behind them and Richie pulled away with a groan to glare at him. "Bill oh my god, _shut up!_" 

Eddie just smiled warmly at Richie, watching him yell at Bill. _What an idiot. _

They took a break after they had been walking for awhile. 

And then Stan was _gone, _mentioning something about seeing some kind of Chickadee. Mike, the only other Loser who could be quiet enough not to disturb Stan's birds, went with him so he wasn't wandering around the woods by himself. 

They had a feeling Stan would be MIA for quite awhile, so they went on ahead. Bev was leading the way, Ben right at her side. Bill and Richie were currently engrossed in kicking a rock between them as they walked, but Eddie was more focused on Richie's hand that was holding his own. He kept occasionally squeezing Eddie's hand or absent-mindedly swinging it when he got particularly focused on keeping the rock moving. It was _very_ distracting. 

"Oh my god!" 

Bev's shriek was so sudden, making them all flinch. It scared Bill so bad he kicked the rock with everything he had. He and Richie just sadly watched it sail into some bushes. Even Eddie was disappointed about that--they had kept it moving for a long time. 

"Is there a reason you're screaming?" Richie asked, pouting. 

"I found a creek!" she exclaimed excitedly, running off. Ben just smiled apologetically at Bill and Richie before going running after her. 

"I can't believe we lost our rock for this," Richie grumbled, making Eddie laugh. 

"Awe come on, you can get a new rock." Eddie said, nudging him. "We're in the woods, there's _plenty _around." 

Richie just let out an over dramatic sigh. "It wouldn't be the same." 

The creek was sort of small. Deep enough to maybe go to their waists, and not that wide. But Bev was still completely ecstatic about it. Ben knelt beside the edge, putting his hand in. "I dunno Bev, it's pretty cold." 

"Of course it's cold, it's not warm enough for swimming yet. It _rained _last night," Richie said. 

Bev apparently did not care, working on getting her boots off. "Whatever Trashmouth, it's not my fault you're a coward." 

Eddie threw his head back with a groan, he didn't have to look over to know that Richie was currently fumbling out of his shoes. Bev could make Richie do anything by calling him a coward--he was so _stupid_. 

"Sorry Eds, she insulted my honor." he said, tossing his shoes aside. 

"You don't _have _any," Eddie grumbled. "But you _will_ have a cold after swimming in there." 

Richie grinned smugly. "Well then you can take care of me again, just like you said you would." Eddie wasn't sure if he wanted to strangle him or kiss him, but he didn't have a chance to decide because Richie kissed him first. 

It annoyed Eddie sometimes just how much Richie was his weakness. 

All it took was one kiss for Eddie's train of thought to completely crash and burn--he had no idea what he had been mad about it, and he forgot about everybody around them. The only thing he was aware of was Richie's hand on his face, the feeling of his lips against his. 

The sound of Bev half-screaming and half-laughing pulled them out of it, leaving Eddie feeling dizzy. Bev was wading into the water, shrieking about how cold it was, but the smile on her face couldn't have been warmer.

Bill jumped in, which was entirely underwhelming with how shallow the water was, but he at least got a little splash from it. He seemed pleased with that. The look of regret as he realized how cold the water was made up for his less than impressive entrance. "This sucks," he whined. 

"Just give it a second," Bev grinned, splashing him.

Richie looked back at Eddie. "Bill beat me to it, I've gotta get in there now." 

Eddie rolled his eyes and shoved him. "Go!" 

Richie kissed him on the cheek, leaving Eddie blushing as he watched his stupid boyfriend run into the water, screaming. Eddie went and sat beside Ben on the ground. "Why do they do this?" 

"They're free-spirited," Ben said lovingly, watching them. Well, watching Bev. 

"They're _stupid_, Ben." Eddie corrected, but his chest did stir a bit when he looked at Richie, laughing as he and Bev teamed up against Bill, practically drowning him. Maybe free-spirited worked too. 

It wasn't too long before Mike and Stan showed up. Stan just rolled his eyes at them. "It's a good thing wild animals _avoid _loud noises--we could hear them from way back there." 

"Made it easier to find you guys though," Mike said with a laugh, shrugging off the backpack and placing it gently on the ground. "Isn't that water cold?" 

"Yes." Ben and Eddie said. Mike just nodded, he wasn't surprised. 

Bev came wading over, folding her arms over a rock and batting her eyes at Ben. Eddie knew Ben was a goner already. "Come in with us, please?" she asked sweetly. "The water's fine once you get used to it." 

And of course, Eddie was right, he agreed almost immediately. 

Eddie couldn't help but a smile a little as he watched Ben rush to take off his shoes, the poor guy was hopeless. Bev had him wrapped around her little finger. Richie made his way over next, copying Bev, batting his eyes at Eddie. "Your turn, Spaghetti." 

"No." Eddie said with a stern shake of his head. He wasn't quite as hopeless as Ben. 

Richie pouted. "Awe come on, what if everybody else came in?" 

Eddie laughed. "Sure. If you can get _Stan_ in here, then yes, I will." 

Richie lit up. "Promise?!"

"Promise."

Richie dealt with the easy one first. "Mike, come in! It'll be fun!" 

Mike of course agreed, so easy to persuade--he was too sweet. But Stan was not sweet, and he was already glaring at Richie. Eddie just grinned smugly--there was no way he was getting Stan in the water. 

"Staniel, I need you to do this for me," Richie said as dramatically as he possibly could. He even went so far as to fold his hands pleadingly, giving Stan the best puppy dog eyes he could muster--Hell, it almost worked on Eddie. "If Spaghetti doesn't come in here, I could _die_." 

"I'm sure," Stan said with a roll of his eyes, sitting stubbornly beside Eddie. "I don't plan to freeze to death today though." 

Richie dropped his hands--begging wasn't going to work. He looked thoughtful for a few moments before thinking out loud. "Hmm. What if I stopped calling you Staniel for a week?" 

Much to Eddie's horror, Stan _actually _looked like he was considering it. "Tempting..." he muttered. 

"Two weeks?" Richie pressed, but Stan still didn't budge. "A _month. _And I'll stop telling people your last name is Urine." 

"Deal." 

"Stan!" Eddie gasped. 

Stan shrugged, working on untying his shoes. "I will take any chance I get to make him less annoying." 

Richie smiled smugly, absolutely beaming. "I love you too, Stanley." 

Eddie felt so betrayed as he watched Stan make his way in the water, hissing about how cold it was. Then he was left with Richie grinning at him, looking so full of himself. "Well, I do believe we had a deal, Eds." 

Eddie shot him dirty look before kicking off his shoes. "Fine." he growled. 

He didn't hesitate to rush into the water, doing his best to ignore that initial shock of how _damn cold _the water was, then made his way to Richie and jumped on him. Richie found it cute at first until he realized what was happening. Eddie was going to drown this man today. 

So maybe Eddie didn't actually drown Richie after all, but he got close, and that's what mattered. 

Once they got hungry, they all got out of the water, sitting on the rocks around it, and ate lunch there. It was a nice spot. The sound of the water moving beside them was relaxing, and the trees overhead let _just enough _sun in on them. Everyone was talking and laughing, Richie and Bill were throwing pieces of food at each other, Ben and Bev were stealing Richie's candy out of the backpack while he was distracted, Mike and Stan were talking about the birds--everything was just so peaceful. Well, peaceful for the Losers anyway. 

Richie turned to Eddie after his and Bill's food fight had apparently been resolved, and he grinned at him. "See? Water wasn't so bad, right?" 

"I'm cold." Eddie said stubbornly, even though he'd had a lot of fun. He knew that Richie knew that anyway. 

Richie put his arm around Eddie, pulling him in. "Does this help?" 

Eddie laughed. "No, you're wet too!" Regardless, he cuddled up against him, resting his head on his shoulder. "You're freezing," he said, smiling softly to himself. 

Richie seemed a bit caught off guard by the sincerity, but he still rested his head on top of Eddie's. "You are too." 

And for awhile, things were pleasantly quiet. He and Richie just leaned into each other, and despite them both being soaked and freezing, Eddie couldn't have been more comfortable. 

He was so in love with him, it made his head spin--he was pretty sure he could've stayed like that forever, without even realizing. 

Except Richie eventually noticed Ben and Bev were eating his candy, and he started freaking out. Bev took the bag and ran and Richie of course chased her. Eddie just sighed fondly--even that made him love-struck. He had it pretty bad. 

They decided to head back after that, they'd been out for _awhile _and navigating back would take some time. 

Especially since Richie's dumbass was the only one who didn't wear shorts, and now he was dragging his feet and whining about how his jeans were wet and uncomfortable. They did eventually make it back somehow, and everyone was even still alive, yet another miracle. 

Sure, Richie got attacked by a bird, Eddie tried to drown him, and Richie and Bev got chased by a squirrel they antagonized on the way back--but everyone was still _alive. _

Everyone was also _exhausted_, so they all went and lazed around. It was the perfect time of day for it--the sun was beginning to sink behind the mountains, the colors of the sky becoming softer and lazier. Eddie would've sat out there all day and watched the sky change, but Richie took Eddie's hand. Eddie's heart yearned the moment he did; the sky was nice and all, but he'd go anywhere with Richie without a second thought. "Let's sneak off to the tent." 

"Oh, it's _the _tent now?" Eddie teased. "Interesting." 

Richie pulled him along, a grin on his face. "Don't sass me, Eduardo, I'm trying to be romantic." 

They crawled into the tent, having to be just as pressed up against each other as last night. Which Eddie figured was most definitely Richie's intention. Richie smirked at him as they laid back, running his fingers absently through Eddie's hair. "What could we possibly do now? Alone, close? Such a predicament we're in." 

"You're right," Eddie said with mock thoughtfulness. Richie was clearly waiting for him to initiate the kiss or say something flirty. Instead, Eddie started sitting up like he was going to leave--he knew Richie would stop him, and that was exactly what he wanted. "Well, if you want, we could step out--" 

"Not a chance, Kaspbrak," Richie said, pulling him back down rolling over him before kissing him deeply. 

Eddie grinned into the kiss, feeling just a bit smug. Eddie always got what he wanted. 

They spent an hour or two in there, just laying together, talking and kissing. 

And everything really did melt away when he was with Richie. Someone could've told him they'd only been in there for twenty minutes and he would've believed them if not for the way the sky had darkened. It was hard to explain--every moment with Richie felt infinitely long in the best way possible, but also nothing more than a second at the same time. A warm, dizzy second. 

They didn't come out again until Mike and Bill were working together to make something small for dinner. Tonight, they would be having s'mores; they needed to save some room. 

Especially Richie. Eddie already knew he was going to eat too many and get sick. 

After dinner, everyone settled around the fire. Mike had brought all the necessary materials for s'mores; even those actual sticks you could buy for roasting things over the fire, which Eddie greatly preferred to having to use actual, dirty sticks. 

Everyone thought Mike must've been a pro at this, considering how prepared he came, but the moment they got started, Mike smiled sheepishly. "I've never done this before." 

"What!?" Bill asked in shock. "You've never--that's crazy!" 

"Well go on then," Richie said, motioning at Mike. "This is a big moment, we all need to witness this." 

Mike laughed as he slowly put his marshmallow over the fire for dramatic effect. Everybody cheered as if it were the biggest accomplishment Mike had ever made. 

Richie was very serious about his spinning technique, where he kept the marshmallow spinning the entire time. Basically, Richie was just serious about anything that had to do with sugar. 

"Y'know, if you put even half this much dedication into anything else, you'd be the most successful person I know." Bev said. 

Richie nodded. "You are so right. I'm not going to do that, but you're right." 

Eddie laughed, resting his head on Richie's shoulder. "Try not to eat yourself sick." 

Richie leaned over, pausing his ever-so-precious spinning technique while he leaned over and kissed Eddie's head, then returned to the task at hand. Eddie couldn't help the way his cheeks heated up--if you could get Richie's attention away from sugar, even just for a second, you were a pretty big deal. 

Poor Mike was just _not_ _good_ at it, he kept having to throw away his marshmallows (which Richie acted like he was kicking a puppy or something). He set his first three on fire and completely scorched them, he burned only one side of another, and then barely cooked one at all. Bill took pity on him and put two marshmallows on his stick each time--one for him, one for Mike. 

In the end, s'mores were just too rich, and everyone ate _maybe _three or four. 

Except Richie, who ate _nine. _

He was going to be sick later. 

For now, he felt great and was talking nonstop as usual. "Hey!" he said after awhile, interrupting his own rambling. "It's dark out, we're all sitting around the campfire... Seems like the perfect setting for _scary_ _stories_." he said, in a voice that was maybe supposed to be Dracula towards the end? 

Ben immediately looked uncomfortable. "What? Really?" 

"Mm-hmm," Richie hummed. "And I've got a good one."

And by 'good one', he meant the most cliche werewolf story they'd ever heard. In fact, the only reason it was interesting at all was because Richie practically performed it. He very heavily emphasized on the fact the werewolf was in the woods, and that it ate seven teenagers who were on a camping trip--quite coincidental. 

Richie took one look around and realized no one looked scared by the end of it--except Ben, but anything could scare Ben. 

Richie pouted. "Awe come on. Werewolves? That's scary." he looked into the fire thoughtfully for a moment, and Eddie became a bit hypnotized at the way the fire reflected on his eyes. Not his glasses, his eyes. Eddie was at just the right angle at his side, he could see his eyes behind his glasses, and the warm orange glow wasn't the slightest bit diluted through his lenses. It danced on his eyes just as brightly as it burned in front of them. 

Eddie suddenly felt like he was burning up too. 

"Maybe that stuff just isn't that scary to us anymore," Richie said after a few moments, sounding actually genuine about it. "Y'know, after _It_." 

And for a moment or two, everyone went deadly silent. Everyone was thinking it over, turning it around in their heads like a stone, a boulder. It was uncomfortable and heavy and Eddie was suddenly fighting the urge to look over his shoulder. 

Then Bev spoke up, sounding more determined than anything else. 

"Of course they are. Just not yours, Richie, because yours suck. Now sit back and let a pro show you how it's done." 

Then Bev proceeded to tell stories that were indeed far better than Richie's. 

And Eddie was relieved that they actually did scare him. 

They all sat around the fire for a few hours, until the fire was nothing more than a pile of dark ash with the occasional sputtering, breathing ember. 

That was a good enough sign to the Losers to head to bed. Especially since they had to be back before noon tomorrow or else Eddie's mom would lose her mind. So Mike poured some water on the pitiful remains of the fire, and everyone headed to their tents.

Except Mike, who seemed quite content with just sitting and watching the stars for a bit. Eddie was glad the sky was clearer tonight.

Richie and Eddie practically stumbled over each other trying to get into Eddie's tent at the same time, laughing and shoving like idiots. It was a nice, clear night out, but of course Richie was staying in Eddie's tent. This would've happened even if Richie had brought his own. 

Richie was out almost the moment they got settled in--he must've overdone it with the sugar today, even for _Richie. _

Eddie managed to fall into a light sleep pretty quickly too, but woke up some time later when he heard the leaves rustle particularly loud as the wind blew through them. He jumped awake, even though rationally he knew that it was just the wind, it still scared him. Yeah, Bev's stories were _definitely_ scarier. 

Richie groaned when Eddie moved. "Eds, baby, it's nothing," Richie muttered, half asleep. "C'mere." 

Eddie had completely forgotten about being scared. He was pretty sure his brain made that up, but it _sounded_ like Richie had just called him _baby. _Eddie laid right back into his arms as if he was being controlled by something else entirely. He didn't mind. 

Richie hummed, wrapping his arms around him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you," he said sleepily. 

Eddie's heart damn near exploded in his chest. This was too much. Thankfully, Richie fell asleep right after that before he could say anything else painfully endearing. Eddie just gripped onto him, smiling stupidly wide, a certain warmth in his chest he'd grown quite used to. 

It was easier to fall asleep after that. 


	3. Warm and Overheating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a nice, short lil final chapter for this stupid lil indulgent fic, please enjoy :')

Richie stirred, whining. 

He was not ready to get up. It was early, he could feel it. 

"C'mon, Rich," Eddie said softly, and then Richie was wide awake in a second with the feeling of Eddie's lips on his cheek. "We gotta get up, gotta head home early, remember?" he muttered against Richie's skin--the feeling was something akin to having soft, lazy sunlight resting on his skin. All gentle and warm. 

Richie opened one eye and grinned at him sleepily despite the way his heart was yearning for him. "Ah, so you took up my request of waking me up, huh? I've gotta say, I definitely prefer this..." he whispered, pulling Eddie in for a quick kiss before Eddie pulled away. 

"There, I woke you up nicely, but if you don't get your ass up, I will start yelling at you." he said with the sweetest smile. 

"There's my little monster," Richie remarked, sitting up with a stretch and a loud yawn. 

Eddie rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Mike's already made breakfast, better hurry before Bill eats your share." 

That got Richie moving, shoving and stumbling out of the tent. Richie would destroy that boy with his bare hands if he even dared. Ben and Bev already ate most of his candy--Richie was ready to start swinging over food now. 

He could hear Eddie laughing from behind him, and maybe it calmed his rage just a bit. 

After an amazing breakfast from Mike--Bill did not help this time, thank God--they started getting dressed and getting packed up. 

Richie just stood there, watching Eddie take his tent apart. "Ha. Bet you're wishing you didn't bring a tent now, huh? Looks like a lot of work." he said with the most smug grin, watching the angry little switch in Eddie's eyes flip. 

He glared at him. "Are you serious?" he deadpanned. 

"I don't know what you mean, Spaghetti, when am I not serious?" 

Eddie rolled his eyes so hard Richie was pretty sure they were going to fall back into his skull, but he didn't even dignify that with a response, just focused on what he was doing. 

Richie laughed, he could practically see the steam blowing out of his ears. "Okay, okay," he muttered, kneeling beside Eddie and beginning to help him get the tent packed up. "Thanks for letting me bunk with you, Dr. K," and maybe he said it with a bit of sincerity, but no one could prove that. 

Eddie cooled down and smiled at him, a little satisfied look on his face. "You're welcome." 

Richie cleared his throat, getting Eddie's attention. "Well?" he said with a dramatic shrug. When Eddie still couldn't figure out what he wanted, he let out a dramatic sigh and kept talking. "And now _you_ thank _me_ for giving you the pleasure of having my company," Richie said expectantly, earning himself a light smack to the leg. 

But he also earned himself a poorly contained laugh--so that was a win. 

Once the two of them had the tent and their stuff packed up, they went to go bother the other Losers. 

Well, Eddie went to help them pack up their own stuff like a "good friend" or something, _Richie _went to bother them. 

Somehow, everyone managed to get packed up despite Richie being as much of a nuisance as he possibly could. Probably because Eddie was being as helpful as he possibly could--it was all about balance. 

Everyone threw their stuff into the van and filed in. 

Bill paused, just holding the wheel, not actually turning the car on. He looked over his shoulder and smiled, but he looked sad. It made Richie's heart feel heavier. "This was fun," Bill said. "I'm sad it's over." 

Mike patted him on the leg. "Me too." 

All the Losers agreed; this wasn't something they did often, but Richie really wished it was. He wished there wasn't always so much going on with them, between family and now college. He wished they didn't have to move on. And that they could just stay here, just them. Just like this. 

But sadly, that wasn't realistic. Though Richie was pretty sure if Bill suggested never leaving right now, they'd probably all agree in this moment. 

But he didn't. He took a deep breath and faced forward, turning the key. 

The engine stalled and then died. 

Everyone was silent for a moment, then Bill tried again. And again, the engine stalled, and then died. It was clear they weren't getting anywhere after all, but Bill still tried three more times before looking back in absolute panic. "Oh my g-god! The c-c-car won't start!" Richie could always tell when Bill was freaking out--his stutter had improved greatly over the years, but it always came back when he was panicked. 

Suddenly staying didn't seem like such a lovely thought anymore.

"Calm down, calm down," Richie said, reaching forward to put a hand on Bill's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll figure it, okay? Just don't freak out." he offered a playful smile. "And I mean, if it doesn't start, we can just all live in the woods. I'm sure none of us will lose our minds or get eaten."

Bill looked horrified. Joke was not appreciated. Noted. 

Everyone else looked entirely frantic, except Eddie, who just leaned forward and tapped Bills shoulder. "Can you pop the hood?" he asked, so calm--and Richie wondered if he was actually that calm, or was using that tone for Bill's sake. 

Bill nodded anxiously, popping the hood. Somewhere beneath all this, Richie was _wildly _amused. Bill was an absolute airhead sometimes, but if there was something he could do, it was lead and stay level-headed when he needed, and when everybody else was absolutely _losing _it. But the moment it was his mom's car, he lost all composure. 

Richie would definitely be teasing him about this later. 

The Losers slid out of the car to follow Eddie around the front. He opened the hood and immediately grimaced by the sudden wave of heat and smell of something burning, taking a few steps back and covering his nose. 

"Jesus," he muttered, giving it a minute or two before getting in closer.

Richie often forgot that Eddie actually knew stuff about cars, and watching him expertly lean into the car and screw off some little lid with ease made his stomach knot up a bit. Poor Richie, literally anything Eddie did either amazed him, humbled him, or turned him on. In this case, it did all three. 

Bill nervously stood beside him, bouncing on his heels, waiting for the diagnosis. "S-So?" he piped up. "Did I r-ruin mom's car?" 

"No," Eddie said with a roll of his eyes. "In fact, you're probably not even at fault for this one, it seems like awhile since this has been tended to," he said thoughtfully. Richie couldn't help but laugh at the way Bill was so instantly relieved, like he would just fall over. Mike was right next to him, looking like he was ready to catch him if he actually did. 

"Oh thank g-god," he muttered, hand pressed to his chest. "Okay. Well are we s-stuck here?" 

"It overheated, your coolant's empty. You probably have some in your trunk, go check." 

Bill quickly ran around to the other side. Richie strode over to Eddie, wrapping his arm around Eddie's waist. _"Well. _Are you about to save the day, mister Kaspbrak?" 

Eddie grinned. "If you think putting coolant in a car is saving the day, then that may be true." he stood on his toes, pressing his lips to Richie, which Richie was definitely pleasantly surprised by.

He could hear Stan groan at their display of affection and get back in the car. 

Richie pulled away, shaking his head. "I cannot wait for the day he starts dating someone--I will never cut him any slack." 

Eddie laughed and lightly pushed Richie away as Bill came jogging back around with a big blue jug. "Is this it?" 

"I'm going to guess since it says 'Antifreeze plus Coolant' in big yellow letters--Yes, it is." Richie said sarcastically. 

It apparently wasn't the time, because Bill rounded on him. "I'll kill you, Richie," he whispered furiously, then turned to Eddie all smiles as Eddie nodded and took it. 

Richie just looked back at Bev and Ben. "Did you see that?" 

Bev shrugged. "You're annoying." 

"Thank you my dear, that makes me feel good right here," he said as dramatically as he could, pressing a hand to his chest.

Bev grinned and flipped him off. 

"Wanna smoke?" he asked. 

She nodded, so Richie pulled out his newest carton, packing it against his palm. Much to his surprise, Eddie stopped what he was doing to glare at him. He knew he didn't like Richie smoking _but damn. _When he didn't look away, Richie suddenly found smacking a carton of his cigarettes against his palm to be inappropriate, so he stopped. "Something wrong, Eds?" 

"I know you're not about to have a smoke right now, with the hood of the car open." he said, and he didn't even sound mad, just disappointed. 

Richie and Bev exchanged awkward glances, then slowly backed away until they were well away from the car. Richie figured it was probably Eddie being overly paranoid since the car was _off, _but Eddie was the big boss right now, he decided not to question him. 

They stood there, passing the cigarette between each other. "How's your face?" she asked, not the slightest hint of actual concern there. 

"It doesn't hurt," he replied, passing the cigarette to her. "But I'll leave the band-aid on for a few days so Eddie doesn't flip out." 

Bev smirked as she took her drag, pausing to blow out the smoke. "Has anyone ever told you that you're whipped?" 

Richie smirked, taking the cigarette between his fingers with a scoff. "Please," he said, ashing it briefly before taking his drag, speaking as the smoke left his lungs, making his voice sound coarse. "And you're not?" 

Bev blushed and giggled--see, that right there was what he was talking about. Bev didn't _giggle. _Not until she started dating Ben. "Awe come on, I think I'm just_ love-struck._ There's a difference." 

"Sure," Richie said with a roll of his eyes, but it was in great fondness. Ben and Bev were always so happy, it made him happy. "Speaking of, please tell me you notice Mike's heart eyes at Bill 24/7." 

"Of course." Bev said casually. "You can't miss it." 

They watched as Eddie closed the hood--which was adorable, he had to stretch to grab it. Richie's heart literally melted. It was one of the cutest things he'd seen (which maybe he said a lot about _a lot _of things Eddie did, but that was besides the point), but there was a certain little flower in his pocket that begged to differ. 

Bill went rushing into the car, leaving the door open as he tried the car again. 

The engine protested and didn't catch the first time, but on Bill's second attempt it revved to life and the Losers cheered excitedly. 

"Looks like we're missing the party," Richie said, taking one last drag before handing the last bit off to Bev. He waited for her to get her last drag out of it and stomp it on the ground, then went running over. 

"Eddie Spaghetti, you should be a mechanic!" Richie exclaimed. 

"Hell no," Eddie grimaced, looking at the black grease on his hands just from unscrewing the lid on the compartment for the coolant. 

Bev laughed. "Hold on, hold on, I have something," she said, rushing to the trunk and rummaging around in her stuff. She came back with a package of face wipes. "There ya go." 

Richie could see the gears turning in Eddie's head as he tried to figure out how to take the tissues without getting grease on the package so Richie took them instead, pulling out a few and handing the rest back to Bev. "Alright, let's see em." 

Eddie held out his hands eagerly and Richie started cleaning them off. It was stubborn, but these wipes were actually doing the trick. Rubbing the wipes over his hands, of course Richie couldn't help but admire them. There were smaller than Richie's, and they were always so soft, which Richie knew had to be from how well Eddie took care of his body and his _skin _especially, Richie couldn't get over it. 

It amused him actually; Eddie did so much more stuff than Richie, and his hands would definitely be rougher than Richie's if he didn't take such good care of them. Richie briefly considered starting to take care of his own, but just _thinking _about it made him feel lazy, so he decided against that. 

Richie glanced at Eddie, who was already looking at him. 

Richie's heart stopped just looking at him. Richie cleared his throat, suddenly uncharacteristically awkward--he couldn't help it, sometimes he was just _struck _by Eddie, and it left him fumbling and clumsy. 

"There ya go," he said, relieved when he saw Eddie's hands were clean. 

"Good," Eddie said, grabbing Richie's face and kissing him. His hands were cold and damp, and smelled _really _good, and with the combination of Eddie's lips on his it made Richie feel drunk. 

Eddie pulled away and looked at him, his lashes over his eyes, shading them. 

Yeah, Richie was feeling pretty hammered. 

And then Eddie just grinned, taking his time looking all over Richie's face. He scrunched up his nose, but that smug little look on his face was still there. "You taste like tobacco." 

Richie gaped, blushing deeply. What was he even supposed to say to that? "At least I didn't smoke next to the car, right?" 

Eddie just rolled his eyes, nudging him along. "Alright, come on, let's get in the car before they start yelling at us." 

"Hey, good point," Richie said as he crawled into the car. "How come none of you guys bothered us? Isn't that like, your specialty?" he asked, not-so-subtly looking at Bill. 

Bill shrugged. "Eddie fixed the car. I'm not gonna r-rush him." 

Richie could respect that. 

"But are we ready now?" Bill asked, looking around and getting everyone's approval before nodding, then they were off. 

When they dropped Eddie off, his mom still freaked out, since it had just hit noon when they arrived--the car issue set them back a bit. 

But Eddie paid her worried rambling no mind, and just smiled and waved goodbye as if she wasn't even speaking at all. Richie grinned. He loved that brat so much. 

Richie spent the rest of his day showering and laying in bed. He almost dozed off for a nap too when he abruptly remembered something important. He stumbled out of bed and to the bathroom where he had left his jeans lying on the floor. He figured that maybe he should actually put them in the hamper for once in his life. But first, he gently removed his little gift from Eddie from the pocket. 

A decent bit of the peddles had come off, it was a little crushed, and the stem was bent, but it was still recognizable. 

He walked into the kitchen where his mother was reading. "Hey mother?" 

She took a moment to find a good stopping point, then glanced up at him. "Hey son?" 

Richie laughed, remembering where he gets his impeccable sense of humor from. He sat beside her. "Can you press this flower for me?" 

"A dandelion?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "You know those are everywhere right? Aren't they technically weeds?" 

Richie laughed softly, he could still hear Eddie's rambling about it clear as day. "So I've been told." he said, spinning the little weed or flower or whatever it was in his fingertips. "This one's just kinda special." 

His mother smiled, but she didn't ask any questions. She knew.

"Alright, give it here," she said, gently accepting it. "If you want it properly pressed, it'll take a few days." 

"That's fine with me!" he said, hopping to his feet and kissing her head. "Thank you, mother," he said with mock formality, disappearing back to his room. Now it was time for that nap.

And four days later, when Eddie came over again, Richie cataloged the way Eddie's face went red when he saw the pressed dandelion on Richie's desk. 

"You must be kidding..." Eddie muttered as he looked at Richie, but he was smiling, big and sunny. And Richie was reminded of the sun on his face, melting those chocolate eyes into honey. The sunlight speckled on his soft skin--Warm and lazy. 

Richie smiled as he walked over and wrapped his arms around Eddie's waist, and Eddie ever so naturally eased into it. Looking at that love-struck look on Eddie's face, Richie couldn't help feeling quite proud of himself, and quite love-struck too. 

"Me? Never." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate the kudos and comments you guys have left, the love I receive is so nice <3 :') Thanks so much for reading!


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